Senior IT Project Manager

Universal Logistics is seeking a Senior IT Project Manager to lead complex, cross-functional initiatives spanning both enterprise IT and transportation-technology systems. This role owns projects end-to-end — from charter through post-implementation review — across areas such as transportation management systems (TMS), fleet telematics, EDI/ELD integrations, and general IT application and system-integration work.

The Senior IT Project Manager operates with a high degree of autonomy on higher-risk, higher-visibility programs, selects the delivery approach (Agile, Waterfall, or hybrid) appropriate to each project, and provides guidance and informal leadership to project coordinators and less experienced PMs. This is a hands-on executioner role – your engagement has immediate impact!

Work Environment

This position is fully onsite at our Warren, MI headquarters. No regular travel is required.

Location: Warren, MI (fully onsite)

Key Responsibilities

Project Leadership & Delivery

• Lead the full lifecycle of enterprise IT and transportation-technology projects, including software development, system integrations, and platform implementations.
• Develop project charters, scope statements, work breakdown structures, schedules, RACI, and RAID (risks, assumptions, issues, dependencies) logs.
• Select and tailor the appropriate delivery methodology (Agile, Waterfall, or hybrid) based on project size, risk, and business need.
• Monitor progress against schedule, scope, and budget; identify variances early and drive corrective action.

Transportation & Logistics Systems

• Lead implementations and upgrades of transportation management systems (TMS), fleet telematics, freight visibility platforms, and EDI/ELD integrations.
• Partner with operations, dispatch, safety, and compliance teams to align technology projects with DOT/FMCSA-related requirements (e.g., ELD mandate, IFTA reporting) where applicable.
• Coordinate with carriers, brokers, 3PL partners, and technology vendors on integration timelines and data exchange requirements.

Risk, Budget & Vendor Management

• Identify, track, and mitigate project risks, escalating issues that threaten scope, budget, or schedule.
• Own project budgets: track expenses, forecast costs, and report variances to stakeholders and finance.
• Manage vendor and contractor relationships, including statements of work, deliverables, and performance against contract terms.

Stakeholder Engagement & Team Leadership

• Serve as primary point of contact for business and IT stakeholders throughout the project lifecycle.
• Facilitate project meetings, steering committee updates, and executive status reporting.
• Mentor and provide day-to-day guidance to project coordinators and junior project managers; may lead a small project team on larger initiatives.
• Drive change management activities and user adoption planning for new systems and processes.

Governance & Continuous Improvement

• Maintain comprehensive project documentation: plans, status reports, meeting notes, and decision logs.
• Ensure deliverables meet quality standards, business requirements, and compliance obligations.
• Conduct post-project reviews and lessons-learned sessions; drive adoption of process improvements across the PMO.

Qualifications

Required

• Bachelor’s degree in Information Systems, Computer Science, Project Management, Business Administration, or related field, or equivalent experience.
• 7 years of IT project management experience, including leading complex, multi-team, or multi-vendor projects.
• Demonstrated experience managing project budgets, schedules, and vendor/contract relationships.
• Strong leadership, facilitation, and cross-functional collaboration skills, with experience mentoring or informally leading other project staff.
• Excellent verbal, written, and executive-level communication skills.
• Proficiency with project management tools such as Microsoft Project, Jira, Smartsheet, or similar.
• Working knowledge of both Agile and Waterfall/traditional project management approaches.

Preferred

• Experience in transportation, logistics, supply chain, or trucking industries, particularly with TMS, EDI, ELD, or telematics platforms.
• PMP certification.
• Agile/Scrum certification (CSM, PMI-ACP, or similar).
• Familiarity with ITIL or other IT service management frameworks.
• Experience with DOT/FMCSA compliance systems (ELD, IFTA, safety/compliance reporting).

Direct Reports: May informally lead or mentor 1–2 project coordinators / junior PMs / Team members

About Universal Logistics

Universal Logistics Holdings is a multi-modal transportation and logistics provider offering a wide range of services including truckload and brokerage transportation, intermodal, and value-added solutions. This role sits within the corporate IT organization supporting technology initiatives across the enterprise and its transportation operations.